Special article stencilling device



Feb. 28, 1961 A. VELONIS 4 SPECIAL ARTICLE STENCILLING DEVICE Filed April 29, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 28, 1961 A. VELONIS 2,972,943

SPECIAL ARTICLE STENCILLING DEVICE Filed April 29, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 28, 1961 A. VELONIS 2,972,

SPECIAL ARTICLE STENCILLING DEVICE Filed April 29, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ELECTRONIC PULSE ll T'MER RECTIFIER CONVENIENCE PANEL United tates SPECIAL ARTICLE STENCILLBNG DEVICE Anthony Velonis, Glen Rock, N.J., assignor to Ceragraphic, Inc, Hackensack, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 731,753

fiClaims. (Cl. 101-124) This invention relates generally to the field of decorating glassware, and more particularly to improved glassware stencilling devices which permit the rolling on of a powdered frit in fluid form through an opening in the screen stencil, following which the frit may be glazed upon the surface of the glassware. The devices also have utility in the application of paint through a screen stencil upon the surface of glassware, pottery and the like.

Devices of this type are generally known in the art, and the invention lies in the specific improvements in constructional details.

It is among the principal objects of the invention to provide a screen stencilling device for cylindrical and oval section ware of the class described capable of extremely rapid operation with a minimum of lost motion. Besides timing and space considerations, the movements of the operator are helped by a fixed position wareholder in the machine. Generally, in previous art, the ware carrier is made to move to reach the screen and then lower to permit loading and unloading. In this invention, the screen lowers to the were and then completes the stencilling cycler Consequently, the operator has more time to load and unload when compared to the complete cycle.

Another feature of the invention lies in the relatively low mass of the reciprocating parts comprising the device.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision in the structure of the class described in which the cost of fabrication may be of a reasonably low order, with consequent wide sale, distribution and use.

Another object of the invention lies in the elimination of complicated mechanical linkages which have heretofore been used in the prior art, thereby materially reducing the degree of servicing required to keep thedevice'in operation over a substantial period of time.

A feature of the invention lies in the use of electrically timed and controlled pneumatic cylinders for automatic operation through a complete cycle.

Another feature is an adjustment additional to screen stroke length and independent of it whichpermits the squeegee and wareholder to part from the moving screen at a given and controllable point. This is particularly useful in applications involving thermoplastic mediums for vitreous frit.

A basic feature is the arc track to guide the screen travel for the printing of conical Ware.

Another feature is the changeability of tracks for the screen printing stroke, permitting a straight line movement to one in the shape of an are for tapered or conical ware.

Another feature is the cable driven system for turning the ware which permits a tight cable for positive synchronous turning during the printing stroke.

Also, this feature permits an easy solution to the positive drive problem for conical ware.

An important basic feature is the ease and flexibility of change from one type of cycle to another to suit the demands of both work characteristics (size, cylindrical,

ice

z conical, oval section, etc.) and the economy of movement to suit the operator.

These objects and features, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will become more clearly apparent during the course of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

On the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view as. seen from the plane 33 on Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view in elevation corresponding to the upper central portion of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view as seen from the plane 55 on Figure 3.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in elevation, partially broken away to show detail corresponding to the upper lefthand portion of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a schematic electrical diagram showing means for controlling movement of the device during a continuous cycle of operation.

in accordance with the invention, the device, generally indicated by reference character 19, comprises broadly: a base element 11, a chuck element 12, stencil supporting means 13, wiper supporting means 14, vertical reciprocating means 15, horizontal reciprocating means 16 and cycle control means 17.

The base element 11 may be of any suitable construction, preferably including a base plate 20 of sufficient area to permit stable operation of the device. A pair of supporting shaftsZll and 22 extend vertically from the base plate20, and include lower ends 23 Welded or otherwise attached to the plate 20 and upper ends 24 which are interconnected by a plate member 25. A second pair of shafts 26 and 27 are disposed within the hollow shafts 21 and 22 and extend upwardly therefrom, the upper ends 28 thereof supporting a fixed platform 29 which serves as means to support the control means 1'7, and may beused as a small table to support a supply of stencilling fluid materials (not shown). Each of the shafts 26 and 27 is provided with milled dovetailed channels 31 and 32, respectively, to permit engagement of a chuck supporting member 33 (see Figure 3) which extends horizontally between the shafts 26 and 27. The chuck element 12 provides adjustable means for supporting various forms of glassware. It includes a horizontal beam member 36 adjustably positionable upon the member 33, a first vertical beam member 37, a second vertical beam member 38, a roller support member 39 having a plurality of tapered rollers, one of which is indicated by reference character 40. Switch means 39 is positioned between the rollers 40, the same having a tongue 40' projecting to be contacted by glassware at the time the same is engaged by the chuck element 12. The first vertical beam member is provided with a padded rotary support 41 adapted to partially enter the mouth of a piece of glassware generally indicated by reference character 44. It is to be understood, that the chuck element 12 is purely exemplary, it being possible to replace the same with various types of rotating jigs in the case of very small objects being stencilled which do not have an open mouth.

The stencil supporting means 13 includes a reciprocating plate 45 havinga plurality of rollers 46, 47, 48 and 49 (see Figure 2) depending therefrom in pivotally mounted arrangement. The rollers 46-49 are generally similar, each including a bearing surface Stlgan upper flange 51 and a lower flange 52, the fiangesserving to of travel.

maintain the bearing surface 50 in contact with the side edges of a guiding rail 53. The rail 53 isinterchangeably mounted upon a movable platform 92 (see Fig. 3), as Wlll become more clearly apparent at a point later in the disclosure. The plate 45 is provided with a pair of laterally adjustable screen supporting finger members 54, each having a vertically disposed offset portion SSand a horizontally disposed screen engaging portion 56. The stencil screen 57 may be of any suitable construction, preferably supported by a wood frame permitting the same to be engaged with the horizontallydisposed portion 56 by means of C-clamps 58, or similar holding devices.

The Wiper supporting means 14 is adapted to reciprocate vertically with the stencil screen 57, and in addition to pivot rotationally away from the same when at the uppermost position to permit the flow of additionalstencilling material to the free areas of the stencil prior to the initiation of a succeeding cycle of operation. It includes a vertically disposed cam member 60 mounted upon the moveable platform 92. The cam member 60 is provided with an arcuate cam face 61 best seen on Figure 3 of the drawing at the uppermost portion thereof. Disposed on either side of the cam member 60 is a bifurcated support arm 62 anchored for pivotal rotation about an axis generally horizontally disposed upon the platform 92. The vertical portion 64'of the arm 62 is provided with resilient means 64' for urging the same in a clockwise direction as seen on Figure 3 through a relatively limited arcuate path The horizontal portion 65 extends over the stencil supporting means 13, and a horizontally disposed bolt 66 pivotally mounts a pair of links, one of which is indicated by reference character 67, the links in turn supporting a cam follower roller 68 which bears against the cam face 61. A resilient tension member 69 is provided with a spring 70 anda tension adjusting bolt71, as well as a fixed collar 72. From a consideration of Figure 3, it will be apparent that rotating the tension bolt 71 in a given direction will cause it to move along the tension member 69 to compress the spring'70 and exert a greater force against the roller 68 as required.

The outer end 73 of the horizontal portion 65 is provided with a bifurcated vertical support member 74 which in turn mounts a horizontally disposed support member 75. Threaded adjusting means 76 serves to raise "or lowerthe support member 75, a given adjustment being maintained by set screw means 77. The horizontal support member 75 isprovided with an elongated slot 78 within which the wiper support member 79 is adjustably supported. The wiper support member '79 is mounted on a sliding member 80 having set screw means 81'. The wiper or squeegee member 83 is preferably set into a removable block 82 to permit replacement of the'same as required. V 1

Y The vertical reciprocating means 15 serves to lower the stencil supporting means 13 and wiper supporting means 14 to a point where the stencil screen 57 will contact the exposed surface of glassware 44 being treated. It includes a vertically disposed carriage 99, an air cylinder 91 (see Fig. l), the air cylinder 91 being secured to the interconnecting plate 25. The movable platform 92 is mounted upon the upper end of the carriage 90, and from a consideration of Figure 3, it will be apparent that raising or lowering of the carriage 90 will result in a similar movement of the means 13 and 14.. To permit such movement, the carriage 90 is provided with an elongated opening 93 best seen on Figure 1 through which the horizontally disposed beam member 36 may extend. As seen in Figure 3, the carriage 90 includes a main body portion from which extend forward side flanges 99 and rearward side flanges 100. The flanges'99 and 100 mount pivotal rollers 101 which support the main body portion 94'against the inwardly disposed surfaces of the shafts 26 and 27.

Since the vertical reciprocation of the device need be I only sufiicient to provide clearance for engagement ofthe glassware 44 with the chuck element 12, the vertical reciprocation path is fixed by the limits of extension of the air cylinder 91. To accommodate for different sized glassware 44, threaded adjusting means 96 raises or lowers the position of the member 33 so that upon the com pletion of the downward stroke the wiper 83 and stencil screen 57 are in contact with the outer surface thereof. The air cylinder 91 may be of any suitable conventional type, including an air valve 105 and piston 106. Hose connections of well known type (not shown) are provided to enable the piston to positively raise and lower the carriage 90.

The movable platform 92 is provided with a pair of pulley mounting blocks (see Figure 3) for supporting left and right hand chuck element driving pulleys 111 and 112, respectively. A cable 113 is passed about the pulleys 111 and 112 and the pulley 114 on the chuck element 12 for imparting rotational motion to the chuck element during the stenciling operation. While the righthand pulley 112 is relatively fixed (except for rotational motion) with respect to the platform 92, the lefthand pulley 111 is pivotally mounted upon the platform 92 as best seen in Figure 6. The block 110 supports a pivotally mounted member 140 upon a pintle 141 which permits the axis of rotation 142 of the pulley 111 to describe an oscillating or rocking motion. The member 140 is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction by a spring 143 which acts through a rod 144 in turn pivotally linked with the member 140 through a rod 145. An adjusting screw 146 is mounted upon the fixed platform 29 and bears against an arm portion 147 of the member 140.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be observed that the cable 113 must be in taut condition when the screen 57 is in contact with the glassware 44- sothat motion of the horizontal .reciprocating means 16 will be transmitted through the chuck element 12 to result in the glassware being rotated at an angular velocity equal to the linear velocity of the screen. When the screen is in its upwardmost position, slack must be provided in the cable 113 in order to' prevent breakage of the same. Since the pulley 111 is capable of oscillating or rocking motion when the vertical reciprocating means 15 is in its upwardmost position, this slack is provided for by the yielding action of the spring 143 which permits motion of the member 140 in a counterclockwise direction. The cable remains taut because of the action of the spring 143, but the modulus of the same is sufliciently low to permit rotation of the member 140 before breakage of the cable'113 occurs. When the reciprocating means 15 is in its lowermost position as shown on Figures 1 and 3, the upper end of the screw 146 contacts the arm portion 147 and moves the same in a clockwise direction sufiicient to bring the cable 113 to a necessary predetermined degree of tension.

The horizontal reciprocating means 16, as has been mentioned, is supported upon the movable platform 92. A fixed bracket supports an elongated anchoring member 131, the opposite end of which is provided with a bracket 132 to permit pivotal movement of the air cylinder 134. The piston is pivotally interconnected at 136 to the plate 45 for the transmission of motion therethrough. The control valve 138 is generally similar to the control valve 105, and air hose means (not shown) provide for the supplying of air to the cylinder 134 as is the case in the cylinder 91.

The length of stroke of the piston 135 within the cylinder 134 is preferably adjustable, so that no lost motion occurs. While the stencil screen 57 may be, for. pur poses of convenience, of .a relatively fixed overall size, the stencil areas upon'the screen are very often determined by the size of the glassware 44 upon which material is deposited. To eliminate lost motion, the piston stroke is preferablyonly slightly greater than the length (as measured about the periphery of the glassware) of the stenciled area. I e Referring to Figure 4 in the drawing, the fixed platform 29 is provided with first and second precision type switches 150 and 151 which are slideably adjustable in a horizontally disposed plane to lie vvthin the path of portions of the frame 137. Each of the switches 150 and 151 is provided with a contact roller member 152, and

by selectively positioning the switches, the effective length i of stroke of the horizontal reciprocating means 16 is determined by the horizontal distance between the roller members 152. I

The control means 17 (see Fig. 7) may be of any suitable type, and provides electrical control of the valves 105 and 138. The cycle of operation may be either entirely manually controlled, or may operate in automatic sequence. The cycle is commenced with the vertical reciprocating means 15 in its upwardmost position permitting a piece of glassware 44 to be engaged with the chuck element 12. The cycle is commenced by the lowering of the means 15 to a point where stencil screen 57 contacts the outer surface of the glassware 44. During this lowering operation, the cable 113 is tensioned as described hereinabove so that motion of the horizontal reciprocating means 16 is transmitted through the cable to the chuck element causing the glassware 44 to rotate with a pure rolling motion against the under surface of the stencil screen. As the cable 113 is gripped in a block 115 (see Figure 3) which depends from the roller 47, the chuck element rotates only in unison with the horizontal, reciprocating means. During the above described downward motion, the cam face 61 imparts motion to the roller 68 which results in a slight counterclockwise rotation about the axis 59 so that the wipermember 83 bears directly upon the upper surface of the stencil screen to provide the necessary wiping motion. When the vertical reciprocating means 15 has reached its lowermost position, a precision type switch 16b is closed resulting in actuation of the horizontal reciprocating means 16 to move the same leftwardly or rightwardly as seen on Figures 1 and 2 to accomplish the stenciling operation. This movement serves to close a second precision type switch 150 or 151 which actuates the vertical reciprocating means 16 to raise the same to its initial position. With less complicated stencilling operations, one complete cycle may be performed for each horizontal movement, while with more complicated stenciling operations, it is preferable that all applications take place in the same direction, as for example, where several colors are being stenciled over each other. A switch 162 provides for continuous operation, while a switch 163 provides for cyclic operation.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

1. In a glassware stenciling device including a rotatable chuck element, a first platform relatively fixed with respect to said chuck element and a second platform relatively movable with respect to said chuck element, and cable means associated with said second platform for transmitting motion to said chuck element, the improvement comprising: first and second pulleys mounted on said movable platform, said chuck element having a third pulley, said cable means passing about said first, second and third pulleys, one of said pulleys on said movable platform havin an axis of rotation arranged for rocking movement with respect to said movable platform whereby relative movement between said first and second platforms may serve to selectively tense said cable means.

2. In a glassware stenciling device including a rotatable chuck element, a first platform relatively fixed with respect to said chuck element and a second platform relatively movable with respect to said chuckelement, and cable means associated with said second platform for transmitting motion to said chuck element, the improvement comprising: first and second pulleys mounted on said movable platform, said chuck element having a thirdp'ulley, said cable means passing about saidfirst, second and third pulleys; a mounting member, one of said pulleys being mounted for rotation upon said mounting member, said mounting member in turn'being mounted for pivotal motion with respect to said movable platform, whereby the axis of rotation of said last mentioned pulley may describe-oscillating motion with respect to the axis of said mounting member whereby relative movement between said first and second platforms may serve to selectively tense said cable means.

3. In a glassware stenciling device including a rotatable chuck element, a first platform relatively fixed with respect to said chuck element and a second platform relatively movable with respect to said chuck element, and cable means associated with said second platform for transmitting motion to said chuck element, the improvement comprising: first and second pulleys mounted on said movable platform, said chuck element having a third pulley, said cable means passing about said first, second and third pulleys, a mounting member, one of said pulleys being mounted for rotation upon said mounting member, said mounting member in turn being mounted for pivotal motion with respect to said movable platform, whereby the axis of rotation of said last mentioned pulley may describe an oscillating motion with respect to the axis of said mounting member; and resilient means for urging said mounting member in a given direction tending to place tension upon said cable means whereby relative movement between said first and second platforms may serve to selectively tense said cable means.

4. In a glassware stenciling device including a rotatable chuck element, a first platform relatively fixed with respect to said chuck element and a second platform relatively movable with respect to said chuck element, and cable means associated with said second platform for transmitting motion to said chuck element, the improvement comprising: first and second pulleys mounted on said movable platform, said chuck elementhaving a third pulley, said cable means passing about said first, second and third pulleys, a mounting member, one of said pulleys being mounted for rotation upon said mounting member, said mounting member in turn being mounted for pivotal motion with respect to said movable platform, whereby the axis of rotation of said pulley may describe an oscillating motion with respect to the axis of said mounting member; resilient means for urging said mounting member in a given direction tending to place tension upon said cable means, and means on said fixed platform engageable with said mounting member for placing a predetermined degree of tension upon said cable means when said movable platform is in predetermined relation with respect to said fixed platform whereby relative movement between said first and second platforms may serveto selectively tense said cable means.

5. In a glassware stencilling device including a rotat- I able chuck element, a first platform relatively fixed with respect to said chuck element and a second platform relatively moveable with respect to said chuck element, and cable means associated with said second platform for transmitting motion to said chuck element, the improvement comprising: first and second pulleys, said chuck element having a third pulley, said cable means passing about said first, second and third pulleys, one of said pulleys having an axis of rotation arranged for rocking movement with respect to said moveable platform, whereby relative movement between said first and second platforms may serve to selectively tense said cable means.

6. In a glassware stencilling device including a rotatable chuck elernent, a first platform relatively fixed with respect to said chuck element, and a second platform relatively moveable with respect to said chuck element and cable means associated with said second platform for transmitting motion to said chuck element, the im;

provement' comprising:- first and'second'pulleys, said mounting member, one of said pulleys being mounted for rotation upon said mounting member, said mounting member in turn being mounted on one of said platforms for pivotal motion With respect to said moveable platform, whereby the axis of rotation of said last mentioned pulley may describe oscillating motion with respect to the axis of said mounting of said mounting member; movement of said moveable platform with respect to said fixed platform serving to selectively tense said cable means.

- l 1 References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,202,799 7 Jackson et a1 May 28, 1940 2,207,351. McLaughlin et a1. July 9, 1940 2,209,688 Davis July 30, 1940 2,307,404 Heyne Jan. 5, 1943 2,492,052 Martin Dec. 20, v1949 2,556,657 Martin June 12, 1951 

